20 Years of Henry’s Fork Watershed Council

Nov. 16 marked 20 years for the Henry’s Fork Watershed Council. On Tuesday, the council celebrated at the annual conference.

The council was formed to help resolve issues between water development interests and conservationists. It has operated as a collaboration between the Henry’s Fork Foundation and the Fremont-Madison Irrigation District.

At the conference, many people spoke about how far the group has come over the past 20 years.

“I didn’t realize how large of an impact the Watershed Council has made by being an example of collaboration and consensus building and trying to solve problems as a general community,” said Dale Swensen, executive director of the Fremont/Madison Irrigation District.

“This is a great opportunity for me to learn more about the history of the Watershed Council, and some of the pioneers here that were under a whole different set of circumstances when they started, the atmosphere was completely different,” said Brandon Hoffner, executive director of Henry’s Fork Foundation.

The meeting was held in Ashton and included a video keynote address from U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo from Idaho.